Tag: Raquel V Reyes

February 2025 QCL (Quad Cities Live) Book Club Selections

- Brittany Leave a comment

In January, Morgan and I read The Last Love Note by Emma Grey in honor of Thank a National Handwriting Day on January 23rd. Below is a short synopsis of the book.

Kate’s husband, Cam receives a diagnosis with no cure that progresses quickly leaving her a 39-year-old widow with a small son. Quickly in survival mode, Kate jumps into caring for her son, and dives into her new job. Living through her grief every day, Kate finds it hard to move on from losing the love of her life.

When a work trip presents itself, Kate and boss/friend Hugh jump on a plane but end up stranded on the other side of the continent. The first time away from her son, Kate has the ability to deal with her grief head-on and decide where she wants her life to go and who will be joining her on this next journey.

This book gutted me, it was so beautiful and sad and full of hope. Emma Grey dove headfirst into the grieving process and did so with many little snippets of comical relief with mix of beautiful characters.

Morgan and I have a very exciting lineup of book options for February. Below are our 4 options including our winning title: Just Another Missing Person. Feel free to check them out from Davenport Public Library! 

On Rotation by Shirlene Obuobi (In Honor of Black History Month & Women Physicians Day February 3rd )  

For fans of Grey’s Anatomy and Seven Days in June, this dazzling debut novel by Shirlene Obuobi explores that time in your life when you must decide what you want, how to get it, & who you are, all while navigating love, friendship, and the realization that the path you’re traveling is going to be a bumpy ride.– provided by Goodreads

 

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner (In Honor of International Day of Women in Science February 11th )

A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them – setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.– provided by Goodreads

 

Mango, Mambo, and Murder by Raquel V. Reyes (In Honor of Galentine’s Day February 13th ) 

Cuban-American cooking show star Miriam Quinones-Smith becomes a seasoned sleuth in Raquel Reyes’s Caribbean Kitchen Mystery debut, a savory treat for fans of Joanne Fluke and Jenn McKinlay.– provided by our Goodreads

 

Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister (In Honor of Missing Day February 20th )

From the author of the Reese’s Book Club Pick and the New York Times bestseller Wrong Place Wrong Time comes a new heart-stopping thriller in which a missing-person case unravels deeper, darker secrets that lead a detective to an impossible moral choice.– provided by Goodreads

 

If you are interested in any of these titles, or have read them, I want to talk about them! Please consider leaving a comment!  

Want to converse with other QCL Book Club followers? Consider joining our Goodreads Group!  

You can also access our recorded interviews by visiting the QCL Book Club Page! 

If you missed the segment, you can watch it here!

Cozy Mystery Reads: Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series by Raquel V Reyes

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Raquel V. Reyes is an accomplished writer who has had many short stories published in various anthologies. Latina characters are the main subjects of her stories. Her own Cuban-American heritage features strongly in her writing, as do the locations of Miami and the Caribbean. Reyes is also the co-chair for SleuthFest, a writing craft conference. Her debut novel is Mango, Mambo, and Murder, the first book in the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series.

Mango, Mambo, and Murder is a delight, not just because of the recipes that are featured at the end of the book! In this kickoff to a new series, food anthropologist Miriam Quinones-Smith and her family have moved from New York to Coral Shores, Miami, Florida. It isn’t exactly the move that she wanted. She was promised actual Miami, not a rich elite subdivision with her opinionated (and honestly racist) mother-in-law living just a couple houses down. Her husband was offered a very good, well-paying job and with her in-laws helping to buy them a house, moving out of their cramped New York apartment seemed like a good idea at the time. Only now, Miriam is forced to put her academic career on hold to stay at home with her young son while her mother-in-law pops in whenever she feels and her husband stays out all day and night rekindling a friendship (and maybe a romance?) with his ex.

The bright spot? Miriam’s best friend, Alma, a local realtor who knows all the best spots to go and has all the connections Miriam could need. Soon enough Alma has hooked Miriam up with a job as a Caribbean cooking expert on a Spanish-language mornng show. Despite her reservations, the job ends up being something she enjoys.

When Miriam and Alma attend a Women’s Club luncheon as a way to network, things go astray. A socialite sitting at their table falls face-first into her lunch. She’s dead. Rumors start flying, especially when a second woman dies soon after. Suspicions swirl around town that maybe the deaths are connected. Cuban herbalist, Dr. Fuentes, is thrust into the spotlight when the morning show’s host collapses while interviewing him live on air. His methods are controversial after all.

When detectives learn that the first woman died as a result of a drug overdose though, Alma finds herself a suspect when an anonymous tip points to her. Detective Pullman turns to Miriam to help him solve the crime since she has an in with the Coral Shores community. She starts poking around to find the killer and to clear Alma’s name. The closer she get to the truth, the more Miriam learns that Coral Shores is full of secrets. People are not what they seem.

This book is also available in the following format:

Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series

  1. Mango, Mambo, and Murder (2021)
  2. Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking (set to be published in November 2022)